Venues that host sporting events typically include a scoreboard that displays information such as the current score and time remaining in the event. Current trends in various sports include monitoring the remaining time to an accuracy on the order of a tenth of a second. A scoreboard displaying a tenth of a second must provide an extremely rapid response as time is expiring. Various arrangements have been proposed to provide scoreboard and timing systems to satisfy the needs of arena owners and sports enthusiasts.
A significant drawback associated with many scoreboard arrangements is that current design approaches are complex and cumbersome to produce. Extensive wiring is typically required inside the scoreboard enclosure. Individual conductors are required for powering each display panel on the scoreboard. Additional conductors are required for communicating between a master controller and each display panel. Direct control of each display panel by a master controller typically is required to provide the type of performance associated with tracking time in an accurate manner. The need for accuracy, however, typically requires significant material and labor costs. Additionally, the installation and service procedures associated with many scoreboard arrangements is tedious and complicated because of the many conductors utilized for direct connections between a master controller and the display panels.